North Otago Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 1895.

North Otago Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8161, 16 April 1895, Page 2

North Otago Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 1895.

Pomatiaka ! The veiy name is worn thrift Ibare — *a bare as tho l-md thst tho unfortumto tenants pay 3a 4£l an aero for to a rack-renting Government. Ye* Pomthaka Btill bobs to the surfaco at odd times, as if to testify to the truism that what is not worth much is hard to It'll. The settlers pay an average re ital of 3s 4J[d an acre for tho land, and this rental is equivalent to a dpi al value of oloae upon L 3 10s an aot?. Tim is the figure the Govo mm nt estimates tho v iluo of tho land at for let ii<g purpoaos ; but whiln the wis°aoroi of tho Government lo'stor up the righteouano-s of thiii puroh«sp by fixing a rental valuo \h\* do oidmary mortal can pay to p r ove tho f times? <f the prioj paid for the laud, neith r tli ■ settlers, nor tho valuer for tho Olutha County Council, n r tho Stipendiary MagMrato (uciing as a^oss>r) ln>H tho same extravagant opinion of the value o? the land. Tho land was reo^ntly valued by the County Cjuucil'a valuer for nting purposes, and ho bused his values on the rentals obtainod by tha Guvornment, nimelf, L 3 109 an wore. Thi« eeomod fair enough, and under ordinary circumsttnce* would be as iqoitablo a moth d of arriving at the value as any that ou'd bo proposed ; but tho aettlm (whom the Ltbrral papers try to make out are sati fied with their bargain*) appealed, and iho Migistrao, taking into consideration tho v^tlue of adjacont lands, rccosni od tho hardship the Sitt'i-rs wou'd Buffer if taxed on tho excessive rentals paid to the Government, and reduotd the value to L 2 an noiv. blad he made it 30a he would h*vo approached nearer to what tho land is actually worth to tho aottlers Tint would moan a rontil per acre of 1% 6d ins'oad of the 3* 4£d p*id to the Government. However, the Magistrate nan (ixod the rental v»luo at 2d an acre, and the Government and those Liberal papers and friends of the Government will tako note of this fact when they endeavor to provo that tho Pomahak* settlors are satisfied to pay 3j 4H an aoro for land that is barely worth' Is 61. On the one hand we have an independent; Court, with no feeling one way or another, fixing tho value, after evidence is taken, at 2s an aoro, and on the other we have the Ministor for Lands and his myrmidons asserting that the settlers are satisfied and willing to pay the rents agreed upon. Anyone with the slightest knowledge of land knows woll enough tint tho settlers cannot afford to pay the rents demanded from them, and that the conditions under which they hold a por;ion ot Poimhaka will require considerable modifica'ion to render them equitable. It is an unfortu n*to thing for the Minister for Land?, but if the Minister for Linds has not knowledge enough, or sense enough, to know when ho is paying a fair prico for land, he should delegate this duty to some one with moro brains and less conceit of his ability. However, we hope wa shall hear no moro of the settlers being satisfied frit'; tho rents thoy pay for Pomahak*. That uniT'ith has been exploded once more.

The letters of E. Lane and " Citizen " will nppoar to-morrow. The Volunteers who were present at the Easter encampment at Waitati returned to Oamaru by special train last nighti The sale of horses by Messrs Guinness and Le Cron, on account of the Wai mate and Waihao Downs Estatos, has boon postponed to Wednesday, the 24th inst. We learn that the condition of trade and commerce in Southland is not extremely brisk. One firm there has just discharged seven of its permanent hands. In Victoria last year one man out of every 400 doing business with the Customs was detected in attempting a fraud upon the revenue. No fewer than 887 were caught. Mr Paulin prognosticated at 11,45 a.m. yesterday as follows : " Light S.E. to S. W. winds and mist, the wind changing to N.E. in About sixteen hours. Barometer fall, ao there Us evidence of atmospheric disturbances approaching from the westward. Tlio general conditions of the atmosphoro are bad." Tho result of the ballot takon by tlio New Zealand Workers' Union on general questions is as follows : Shifting he&<l office to Christchurch, for 390, against 450 ; newspaper, for 516, against 317 ; benefit scheme, for 437, agaiuet 434 ; importing shears, for 498, against 324; raiting subscription to 10a, for 429, against 393. In his speech at Wanganui on Wednesday Mr (». Hutchison referred to tho Blind River Estate, not previously mentioned by Ministers, costing L 15.000. Only very few sections wore being taken up, and these were Hke'y to bo abandoned. The river wns blind (dry) Bix months of tho year during tho summer, and thero was no water anywhere. Who is tho fortunate ■oiler ? Tho Star of last night say« ; A privato telegram was received in town on Saturday night to tho effect that the boat with tfoe three men (Joseph Drako, John Driver, and Peter Lawson), which has been misting since tie /3th instant, had not returned to tho NuggejLi. Inquiries were made by tho owner of the boat, and the lighthouse keepers informed him that it had not been eeon since the 6th footant. Tho polico are still searching tho const, but have not yet found any trace of the boot o? the mon. On tho first evening of the Mocksn^e Collio Dog Club trial meeting a ball took place, and the ladies present were nwlc judges of the best looking bacholor compet* ing at tho trial, tho prize boing a handsome shepherd's plaid presented by Mrs M'Lood Mr Sydney Bryant, from the Grampian Hills, secured two-thirds of tho votes in the room. The fortunato competitor was carried shoulder high round tho room to tho strains of " See the Conquering Hero Cornea j" and frow bis eyrie he returned his thanks to the Indies tor £ho high honor thoy had that night conferred ou him." A Sydney lawyer had a startling experience the other day. Just as ho was leaving for tho city he noticed that his brief bag was partly opeii, and ensconced therein was what appeared to be a /make. Imagining that a practical joke had been perpetrated, ho was about to romovo what he thought was a dead snake, when to his horror, he saw signs of life. Not pretending to bo expert in the handling of snakes, ho carried tho bag and tho intruder to tho city. Tho snake was pronounced to bo a greoa-tre* snake, 2ft 6ins long, and non-venomous. A contemporary says that five years ago, or thereabouts, a settler near Wellington lost a horse. Ho reported tho fact to the police, and the animal was put on the list of stolen property, and ever since then the authorities have looked for it at intervals, and naver came any nearer to finding it — until tjbt ot\ er day, wlion tho animal suddenly dawa«d pn them, in a manner of epeaking. Tho tfcief bud dootored the teanda a Httlo, banged ttyo animal's tail and cut his mane, ana had aold him to the police department. Since then lie iiaji 4 one many a long day's run while out looking for , himself, and has .come back again without seeing any sign of hJftieU oa tb» furtheit borUvn,

The Napier News says r The native lady who exhibited the latest thing in trouiert has no thought of hiding from public gaze. Last evening she entered the dross oirclo of the Theatre Royal, and paused to locate a ■eat, quite conscious of the admiration she oxcited. Though perfeotly modelled, the new woman is of ample proportions — that is, scarcely sylph-like, and when she sat down she did so with some force. The seat was carried away with a crash, and the public genera'ly were startled beyond measure, but the shock was intensified when the new woman rose up from fehn ruins. She was slightly cmbarrassod, and mentioned the fact to the door-keeper with some trepidation, but was ultimately induced to try her weight on another seat, and judging from the violent motion of her hands during the progress of the Gondoliers, the fftsciunting aboriginal can discriminate between good music and bad. Oatnaru is apparently the only place along the coast where tho vast shoals of sprats, which have been in evidence for tho past three or four weeks, put in an appear* anco in considerable numbers. Tons of these fish have been taken out of the 6C& this season, tho local fishermen adopting a new device for taking them. Tho locality of the shoals of sprats can bo dotected from the shore by the dark appearance of tho wacer, and around theso dark spats the fishermen place their nets and draw the whole shoal ashore, taking boatloads at a time. Tho fish occasionally visit Timaru, and aro sometimes seen in Moeraki, but their principal place of resort is Oamaru. On the south side of tho Capo there are vast shoals of these tiny fish, and thousands of mutton birds follow them abo>t q <rging themselves to repletion on the harvest. Ihe fiah have been off the coast for over two months, and next year tho fishermen will start tho harvest of fish earlier by netting them outside the harbor as well as inside. Tho fish usually appear outside tho harbor a month before they enter it, Mu Grho. Robinson, surgeon dentist, will visit Waimato professionally on Tuesday, 16th April. Read Clayton, Gaudiner, and Co.'. advertisement at tho foot of tho third pages Eastbu Monday. — Tho Post Office will bo opsn in all branches from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Mails usually dispatched in the aftcraoon will close at 10 a.m. James Gkmmell invites inspection of his first summor consignment of Scotch and English suitings, coatings, and trouserings, ex I'akcha. A choice selection of exclusive novelties ; also Oamaru and other Colonial goods of tho best quality. This Establish meut has long boon noted for the first-class character of its productions. Suits from 7Ci upwards. Waterproof overcoats to ordor and ready made at lowest current rates. — James Gemmell, Tlameo Street, Oamaru